Stacey A. Kartchner serves as Senior Counsel in Klinedinst San Diego. In her practice, she represents individuals accused of criminal charges in both state and federal courts, as well as material witnesses in state and federal court, including in Grand Jury proceedings. Ms. Kartchner also defends professionals in administrative and licensure hearings, as well as litigation involving allegations of malpractice. She is dedicated to zealously protecting the rights, liberties, licenses, and interests of her clients.
In the area of Criminal Law, Ms. Kartchner has decades of experience in matters involving arrests, bail, and warrants; assault and battery; burglary and theft-related offenses; domestic violence; drug offenses; driving under the influence (DUI); record expungement and sealing criminal records; felonies; juvenile defenses; criminal threats; federal offenses; felony misdemeanor offenses; hit and run cases; homicide; military diversion; property crimes, weapons charges, white collar defenses, and various other criminal charges. Her experience in Administrative Law includes administrative hearings before numerous agencies, including, but not limited to, the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), where she represents clients in administrative per se, lack of skill, and negligent operator hearings. Furthermore, Ms. Kartchner is well-versed in dealing with Restraining Order matters, including Civil Harassment, Elder or Dependent Adult, Workplace Violence, Gun Violence, and Domestic Violence.
Before joining Klinedinst, Ms. Kartchner gained valuable experience working at her own firm for 14 years, and previously at Grimes & Warwick for over ten years. (NOTE: We want to keep the name of the firm in because Bob Grimes and Tom Warwick are known in the community as two of the best criminal defense lawyers of their time. I was lucky to work there and the names still hold great weight in the legal community.) During this time, she honed her skills representing [please delete the word hundreds because I have probably represented close to a thousand clients by now over 22 years] clients against criminal charges in both state and federal courts from the initial court appearance through sentencing and on appeal. Ms. Kartchner also gained useful knowledge and trial skills during her internship at the nationally-recognized Federal Defenders of San Diego, Inc
Within the community, Ms. Kartchner serves as the immediate past President of the San Diego County Bar Association, an organization made up of more than 7,000 members. Currently, she serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the San Diego County Bar Foundation. Additionally, she is the current Chairperson of the San Diego Criminal Justice Memorial Committee, made up of numerous state and federal court judges, the San Diego County Public Defender, the San Diego District Attorney, and members of the criminal justice community. She is also the Chairperson of the Criminal Justice Act Material Witness Defense Advisory Committee. Further, since 2011, she has served as a member of Accessity (formerly ACCION San Diego). Ms. Kartchner has previously served as President of both the Criminal Defense Lawyer’s Club and the Criminal Defense Bar Association. She stays very active in the community through her volunteer efforts, membership in numerous associations, and writing/editing articles in various publications.
Ms. Kartchner has achieved the highest AV®-Preeminent™ rating by Martindale-Hubbell. She has been featured in the San Diego edition of Super Lawyers® every year since 2015, and Forbes Advisor named her a Best Criminal Defense Lawyer San Diego (2024). She has achieved a perfect 10.0 rating on Avvo, and was previously named a Top Attorney by the San Diego Daily Transcript.
Education
- California Western School of Law (J.D., 2002)
- University of Utah, Salt Lake City (B.S., 1998)
